I am a professor and endowed professor at the University of Houston where I founded and direct the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and head the graduate program in space architecture. My background deals extensively with research, planning and design of habitats, structures and other support systems for applications in space and extreme environments on Earth. I have recently written a new book titled "Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind the Global Warming Hoax". It can be previewed and ordered at www.climateofcorruption.com. Additional information about my book and views can be found on my YouTube address: http://www.youtube.com/climateofcorruption.

This article is the first in a four-part series discussing the early formative Chicago political career days of Barack Obama as community organizer, lawyer, Illinois state senator, financial foundation executive, and U.S. Senate campaigner. Part 2 will emphasize his activities related to Illinois health care issues leading to Obamacare.

What do federal subsidy rip-offs for green energy and Chicago low-cost public housing politics have in common? Just about everything—including certain key players.

Some illustrative events took place in the Windy City soon after a young Harvard Law School graduate arrived there little more than a decade ago. That was in 1993 when Barack Obama was hired as a junior lawyer by Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. The small 13-attorney firm was a force in Chicago politics. Antoine “Tony” Rezko was one of their clients. Allison Davis, a co-founder, later left to become a major Chicago developer and Rezko partner in some deals. Davis, along with other law partners and their clients became regular sources of Obama campaign money. Obama remained with the firm until he was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 at age 34.

As state senator, he acted upon a strong real estate interest, co-authoring an Illinois law creating a new pool of tax credits for low-cost housing developers. Using Illinois Senate stationery, he urged state and city officials to provide lucrative subsidies to help Davis and Rezko develop low-income elderly property.

Thousands of apartments across Chicago built with local, state and federal subsidies, including several hundred in Obama’s district, had already deteriorated so completely that they were no longer habitable. Squat brick buildings of Grove Parc Plaza owned by the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp. founded by Obama’s former boss Allison Davis was an example. In 2006 inspectors gave the complex a score of 11 on a 100 point scale and moved to seize the property. As a lawyer, Obama represented Woodlawn when it was sued by the City of Chicago for failing to adequately heat one of its apartment complexes.

Close Obama family friend and present Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett served as executive vice president, and later, CEO of the Habitat Company that managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until 2008. Jarrett’s company also managed Lawndale Restoration, Chicago’s largest subsidized Chicago complex. It was seized by the city in 2006 after inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.

Lawndale’s problems dramatically gained public attention earlier in 2004 when a sport utility vehicle driven by a woman trying to buy drugs struck one of the buildings, causing it to collapse. In the height of the aftermath, a small group of Lawndale residents gathered to rally against then- U.S. Senate candidate, Barack Obama.

Over a decade, Davis’s companies received more than $100 million in subsidies to renovate more than 1,500 Chicago apartments. In some cases he partnered with Tony Rezko. In 1998 they created Neighborhood Rejuvenation Partners LLP. The partnership created New Evergreen/Sedgwick, a $10.7 million renovation of five walk-up buildings in a gentrifying neighborhood that was subsidized by nearly $6 million in state loans and federal tax credits.

This was made possible by a $1 million investment provided by the Woods Fund while Obama and Bill Ayres were on the board. (Another big Woods Fund recipient while they served was the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, “ACORN”, a major Obama campaign get-out-the-vote machine.) Maintenance conditions at New Evergreen/Sedgwick deteriorated rapidly, including plumbing failures that channeled sewage into apartments.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.